Ifood.tv chef Vikas Khanna will replace Akshay Kumar as one of the judges on the upcoming second season of the Master Chef India cooking contest. Khanna, a New-York based chef, restaurateur and activist, is thrilled about the development and the ifood.tv family, with which he has had a very close association right from the start, echoes his enthusiasm and this honor bestowed upon him. Khanna will be judging the contestants of the show with Chefs Ajay Chopra and Kunal Kapoor keeping him company, as will be several other celebrity judges and exotic locales.

Reaching landmarks is nothing new for this suave personality, who was recently invited to whip up a “spiritual meal” at the Hindu American Seva Conference (HASC), held at the White House on July 29, 2011. About the experience of working in the White House kitchen, Khanna says, “I was truly honored by the opportunity....”

The beginning

Born and raised in Amritsar, the holy city situated close to India-Pakistan border in the Northern State of Punjab, Khanna grew in an atmosphere where large family feasts were common. He often accompanied his grandmother in the family kitchen, watching her whipping up sumptuous feasts made with the fresh produce from the nearby fields of Punjab and that is what got him attracted to learn the intricacies of Indian cuisine.

From a banquet and catering business, opened in Amritsar when he was a teenager, Khanna has come a long way to the United States, where he studied at Universities like the Cornell and the New York and is today a proud owner of several restaurants and a celebrity consultant at many more.

His endeavors

Khanna, author of several books and creator of “The Holy Kitchens”, a documentary film series on foods from different faiths, also runs a restaurant called Junoon in New York.

Among the books that he has written, there is “The Spice Story of India”, “Flavors First,” and “Modern Indian Cooking”. Besides, he has received several national and international awards, including the “Access to Freedom Award” in 2005 from SATH. The previous recipients of this award are former US President George W. Bush and HRH Prince Charles.

A charming personality in his own right, Chef Vikas Khanna is bound to bring in his own celebrity quotient and culinary expertise to the second season of the Master Chef India, which received overwhelming audience response in its first season.

Not the first time

However, this is not the first time that Khanna will appear on television. In September 2007, he was a consultant chef on the coveted TV show “Kitchen Nightmares,” a venture of celebrated chef Gordon Ramsay. On October 13, 2009, Khanna also featured as a judge and Indian-cuisine specialist on another of Ramsay’s show “Hell’s Kitchen.” Vikas Khanna has also appeared as a guest chef in “The India show” episode on “The Martha Stewart Show” on March 4, 2011.

His endeavors are many and one of them is his close association with the ifood.tv since long back. The ifood.tv family wishes him All The Best in his new venture. Stay tuned in for more on ifood.tv chef Vikas Khanna and his new television show.

Image Courtesy: ifood.tv, vkhanna.com